Cardiff University offers one year's pay for two years' service in new severance scheme

A university is offering to pay a year’s salary for just two years’ service as part of a new severance scheme.

A university is offering to pay a year’s salary for just two years’ service as part of a new severance scheme.

Cardiff University’s
Voluntary Severance Scheme aims to create a sustainable staffing profile appropriate to its plans and needs for the future.

The scheme, which launched yesterday and closes on April 30, is designed to provide staff with an opportunity to take a personal decision regarding their future employment.

It enables staff who may wish to leave their employment to do so with an “appropriate compensatory payment”.

The scheme will run across the university and all staff are entitled to apply – but applications will be considered against business and financial interests.

According to the university’s guidance on voluntary severance, the compensation paid on voluntary severance is 12 months’ gross salary – defined as the salary before deduction of employee’s national insurance contributions and tax.

The payment for part-time staff will be calculated pro-rata, based on their actual salary not that of a full-time employee.

The university has set aside a fund for this purpose and the scheme, which has a fixed budget, will close early if oversubscribed.

There will be no separate payments for notice or untaken annual leave and statutory redundancy pay does not apply, with employment ending by mutual consent.

The university said: “For our collective success, we need to ensure that we have and can retain a staff profile that can deliver excellence in research, in education and student experience and support our international and engagement agenda.

“Professional support across the university also needs to be focussed on services which enable the university to deliver its aims. The changes in overall performance expectations and in the way we will work are significant and may potentially be at a level which some members of staff are not comfortable with.

“Individuals may also have personal reasons for considering a change of direction or of career. The university recognises that and is providing a one-off opportunity to apply for severance under a Voluntary Severance Scheme.”

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